1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tamper-indicating radio frequency identification (RFID) devices.
2. Background Art
Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are electronic devices that may be affixed to items whose presence is to be detected and/or monitored.
The presence of an RFID tag, and therefore the presence of the item to which the tag is affixed, may be checked and monitored by devices known as “readers.” Readers typically transmit radio frequency signals to which the tags respond. Each tag can store a unique identification number.
Container seals are often applied to tamper sensitive assets such as medical supplies, military equipment, etc to detect tampering. Typical container seals tear when the asset is tampered with. Thus, tampering can be detected visually as a tear in the seal. The number of assets, however, often becomes so large that visual detection of tampering becomes overly time consuming. Moreover, individual inspection often occurs at discrete times. In between these inspections, the tamper status of the each of the assets is typically unknown.
Thus, what is needed is an efficient and continuous way of tracking the status of a tamper seal.